Variety reports that all 543 theaters in the US will be closed, which account for the chain’s 7,000+ screens in the region. The Sunday Times reports that it will close all 128 theaters in the UK and Ireland, too.
Both say James Bond is the reason.
Yesterday, the 25th James Bond film — No Time to Die — was pushed back to April 2021 due to the ongoing pandemic, denying theaters one of the last major tentpole releases due out this year. Apparently, theaters were counting on Bond, specifically, to arrive on time and help bail them out of poor ticket sales.
www.theverge.com/2020/10/3/21500538/regal-cineworld-theaters-shut-down-james-bond-us-uk
Operations will be suspended from Thursday, a move the company pins on “an increasingly challenging theatrical landscape and sustained key market closures due to the Covid-19 pandemic.”
The company says its decision will affect some 45,000 workers.
Sad.
h/t SG